Does India have to choose between the lesser of two evils?

If you read media reports, it seems like a foregone conclusion – Narendra Modi will be the next PM of India, led by a “mythical” Modi wave that is about to “sweep” India. Western media has sounded the cautionary note of this eventuality, only to be attacked, not surprisingly, by BJP fans. Local godmen, who peddle everything from yoga to secrets of good living, have jumped on the BJP bandwagon through a series of Op-ed pieces, sound bites on TV, tweets and social media posts, attacking everyone who seems to stand in the way. Some industrialists have stepped up to endorse the BJP manifesto. The media has started rolling out the BJP’s “list of most powerful” in the impending Modi government.

Is this “India Shining” as in 2004 all over again? Is this another media-fabricated myth that unabashed PR funding won’t eventually sustain – A case of shining in the media but not in the hearts and minds of the people?